ICE says University of Minnesota grad student's visa was revoked for drunk driving, not protesting

Minneapolis — A University of Minnesota graduate student who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement was taken into custody because of a drunken driving infraction, not for being involved in protests, federal officials said Monday.

"This is not related to student protests," Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement. "The individual in question was arrested after a visa revocation by the State Dept. related to a prior criminal history for a DUI."

News of the student's detention — and the lack of an official explanation — sparked student protests and expressions of concern from university and political leaders. Gov. Tim Walz told reporters Monday that he spoke with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about it Friday and was still waiting for further details.

Meanwhile, officials at Minnesota State University Mankato said Monday that one of their students had been detained by ICE as well.

President Edward Inch said in a letter to the campus community that the student was detained Friday at an off-campus residence.

"No reason was given. The University has received no information from ICE, and they have not requested any information from us," Inch wrote. "I have contacted our elected officials to share my concerns and ask for their help in stopping this activity within our community of learners."

The Mankato school didn't name the student or give the student's nationality or field of study. ICE didn't immediately respond to a request for details on that case.

"This is becoming a deeply concerning pattern, where ICE detains students with little to no explanation ... and ignores their rights to due process," U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in a statement. "I will keep pressing the administration for answers about these arrests and work to get answers from federal immigration authorities about this case."

The University of Minnesota hasn't named its student, either.

That student, who was detained at an off-campus residence on Thursday, was enrolled in the business school on the Minneapolis campus. University spokesperson Andria Waclawski said the school had no further updates Monday. She said earlier that they were following the lead of the student and respecting their request for privacy, while providing the student with legal aid and other supports.

The governor said Monday that, "A deep concern is, here, that no matter what the situation was, in this country, everyone has due process rights and our concern is whether those due process rights are being followed."

The Trump administration has cited a seldom-invoked statute authorizing the secretary of state to revoke visas of noncitizens who could be considered a threat to foreign policy interests. More than half a dozen people with ties to universities are known to have been taken into custody or deported in recent weeks. Most of those detainees have shown support for Palestinian causes during campus protests over the war in Gaza.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that 300 student visas had been revoked up to that point, asserting "we have a right" to rescind the visas of students who participate in campus protests, despite questions about due process and First Amendment objections. 

"If you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student, and you tell us that the reason why you're coming to the United States is not just because you want to write op-eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus, we're not going to give you a visa," Rubio said. "If you lie to us and get a visa then enter the United States, and with that visa, participate in that sort of activity, we're going to take away your visa."